All Because of Snow
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: During Harry's fifth Hogwarts year, Dumbledore sends him to the Dursleys' over Christmas - with consequences. Completely AU. HP/HG


**All Because of Snow**  
><strong>by Healer Pomfrey<strong>

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story.  
>I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes.<em>

* * *

><p>Harry Potter let out a long sigh as he finally finished all the cooking for the Dursleys' Christmas. Since Voldemort had been resurrected a few months ago, Albus Dumbledore had decided to send Harry home to his doting relatives over the winter holidays, claiming that he would be safer at his aunt's home than everywhere else.<p>

Harry could not help feeling slightly excited. On this Christmas Eve, he was going to do the first real stunt in his life. He had already prepared everything. His wand was in the back pocket of his jeans and his most valuable belongings like the Marauders Map and his photo album hidden in his jacket. He was going to spend Christmas away from the Dursleys' residence, and he was going to leave right away, before his relatives even had the chance to lock him into his room over Christmas.

So far, he had not really thought about where he was going to spend the three days, on which he was used to be locked in. He was only sure that he wanted to get away. Since he was a natural, multiple Animagus, he was not afraid of the cold or of the snow that had been continuously pouring down since the early morning. _'If it's too cold, I can just transform into a bear or a husky,'_ he thought with a small smile playing on his lips as he cleaned up the kitchen for the last time on this Christmas Eve.

He swiftly left the house, before his aunt could instruct him to shovel snow for the umpteenth time that day, feeling very excited, happy and free. Without even considering where he was going, he just walked straight on for hours. Never before had he walked so far in this direction, however, he was fairly sure that the small road would eventually lead him to the city centre of London, which for him meant Diagon Alley.

Unfortunately, the snow became deeper and deeper, and Harry was just about to transform into a husky in order to be better able to walk, when he passed in front of a small church, where a mass just seemed to be over. However, the path between the church and the road was completely snowed in, and he observed how a group of about a dozen old nuns were inefficiently trying to walk in the snow only to slip or sink into the snow up to their knees.

Without even pondering what he was doing, Harry pulled his wand and banished the path from the snow, before he dried the ground to prevent the nuns from slipping. Only when the group of nuns sank to their knees and thanked God for making the path free for them did he realise that he had used his wand.

_'Oh no,'_ he thought, horrified. _'I'm not allowed to use my wand.'_ He quietly walked on, thinking, _'But I only did it to help them. It was too dangerous and too cold for them in that snow.' _

Nevertheless, mere five minutes later, an old barn owl swept down from the sky and hovered in front of him holding out a letter. _'Oh great, this time, I've really been expelled from Hogwarts,'_ he realised. _'Well then I won't return to Hogwarts in my human form. I'm going to go as an Animagus. I just have to decide on a form and where to stay. Maybe with one of the teachers. While they're in class, I can study for the OWLs.'_ His thoughts went haywire, just when no other than Fawkes appeared right in front of him holding out a parchment.

"Hello Fawkes," Harry greeted the phoenix in surprise.

#Hi nestling, what are you doing here?# Fawkes asked, fluffing his feathers. #It's too cold out here for my liking.#

"It's better than being locked in at the Dursleys'," Harry informed the phoenix. "Please don't tell the headmaster about it though."

#Don't worry, nestling,# Fawkes reassured him. #I won't tell the old grumpy one. He deserves worrying about you for once.#

As soon as Fawkes flashed away, Harry opened the small parchment.

_'Harry,_

_don't do anything. Just remain at your home. You won't be expelled. Since it's my own rule, I'll be able to see to it._

_Have a Happy Christmas_

_Albus Dumbledore'_

_'Typically Dumbledore,'_ Harry thought in annoyance, as he continued to walk, deep in thoughts. By the time he had reached the city centre of London in his husky form, he had made a decision. _'Dumbledore told me to remain at home,' _he thought. _'I'll do that. Unfortunately, my home is not where he thinks it is.'_ With that he transformed into a phoenix and flashed straight onto the Hogwarts grounds.

For about an hour, he observed the last lights being switched off in the teachers' quarters, before he flashed into one of the greenhouses, where he transformed into a chameleon and made himself comfortable on the soft branch of a comfortable tree, thinking happily, _'Hogwarts is my real home now.'_

HP

While Harry in his chameleon form peacefully drifted off to sleep, an alarm went off in the headmaster's office.

"What's that alarm?" McGonagall asked, worriedly, as she stumbled into her old friend's office with her hair loose and her hands hurriedly trying to fasten the belt of her bathrobe, just when the headmaster arrived as well.

"The wards around Harry's home are coming down," Dumbledore replied, thoughtfully.

"Maybe his uncle is abusing him again," McGonagall said, crisply, glaring at the headmaster.

"Ah Minerva, I don't think so," Dumbledore contradicted, "and at least Harry's not in danger, otherwise a different alarm would alert me to the matter. Let's go to back to bed. I'm sure Harry will be all right."

McGonagall grudgingly agreed, knowing from years of experience that her old friend was very stubborn when it came to Harry.

However, when she entered the headmaster's office in the morning, she could see on the device that was observing the Dursleys' residence that the wards around Harry's home were still half-way down.

"Merry Christmas, Minerva," Dumbledore greeted her, pleasantly.

"Don't Merry Christmas me, Albus," Minerva replied, angrily. "What about Harry? Are you sure that he's all right? How can you be so sure? Albus, please let me go and check on him."

Dumbledore let out a long sigh. "Minerva, you'll see, in ten day's time, Harry will be back sound and safe." Completely ignoring his deputy's snort, he added, "Let's head to the Great Hall. Breakfast is going to commence soon."

HP

At the same time, Harry debated with himself if he should hide in the greenhouses in his chameleon or some other kind of animal form, or if he should become Professor Sprout's familiar by simply bonding to the teacher, who was already up and about caring for the plants at the other side of the greenhouse. The thought _'Would she keep my secret if I told her who I was?'_ pressed itself to the front of his mind. However, after pondering the matter for an hour, he decided otherwise.

_'What kind of animal would be of use for the Herbology teacher?'_ he wondered, before he finally decided to transform into a hedgehog. He made his way over to where the professor was busying herself and sat under a nearby plant, where she would probably discover him soon.

A mere instant later, the professor saw him from the corner of her eyes and stared at him with a combination of surprise and disbelief. "A hedgehog? Here in my greenhouse?" she blurted out, carefully extending her hand towards the small animal, causing Harry to instinctively curl up to a small ball.

"Hi there," the professor cooed, "I'm not going to hurt you."

Lured by the soft voice, Harry slowly uncurled and looked into the witch's face. It was full of little wrinkles, as she smiled at him. He had always liked Professor Sprout, even though he did not know her well. Only when she conjured a small bowl with milk for him did Harry realise that he felt absolutely famished. The last that he had eaten was a small piece of toast with butter about twenty-four hours ago. He greedily licked the milk out of the bowl, before he gave the professor a grateful look.

_'Too bad that I'm not even able to communicate with her,'_ Harry thought. _'I need to flash myself to the Dursleys and fetch my invisibility cloak, when I can get away from here. Then I can spend the nights in the library to study, and I can search for a bonding spell.'_

"Are you going to stay with me?" Professor Sprout asked, smiling. "I could very well use a hedgehog here in the greenhouses, and I'd be happy to have you here."

Not knowing enough about hedgehogs to properly reply and not able to even communicate, Harry merely nodded his head, hoping that the professor would understand.

Apparently, she did. "That's wonderful," she commented, before she informed him that she had to go and attend breakfast in the Great Hall. "I'll be back in about an hour," she told him, before she bustled away.

_'Thank Merlin,'_ Harry thought and, glancing around to make sure that he was really alone, he transformed into a phoenix and flashed right into his old room at the Dursleys', where he usually kept his invisibility cloak hidden under a loose floor board. He could hear loud voices from downstairs and thought in annoyance, _'Probably Dudley did not get enough presents for Christmas. He must have complained a little too much if Uncle Vernon is shouting at him.'_ Shaking his head in annoyance, he grabbed his invaluable possession and flashed right into the Hogwarts library. He transformed into his human form, knowing that he'd have an hour of quiet time, since breakfast on Christmas morning at Hogwarts usually took at least an hour.

To his relief, he found the bonding spell and made sure that he knew exactly how to cast it, before he flashed back into the greenhouse and transformed into his hedgehog form. _'She'll probably want me to eat these slugs,'_ he thought, noticing in surprise that the thought was not even unappealing to his hedgehog instincts. Still feeling hungry anyway, he cleaned the area from all the slugs, finding them absolutely delicious.

To Harry it seemed like an infinite time, before Professor Sprout finally returned to the greenhouse, seemingly shaken and not in a mood as if she had just come back from breakfast on Christmas day.

"It's so horrible," she immediately turned to him. "Just during Christmas breakfast, Voldemort and his Death Eaters have attacked a Muggle family, where one of our students was living. We don't know what happened to him yet, but this is so horrible."

Harry could see that she had a hard time fighting back her tears. His thoughts went haywire. _'What family? Could it be the Dursleys? Maybe Uncle Vernon was not shouting at Dudley but at Death Eaters? Or maybe the Grangers. I need to check if Hermione's all right.'_ Knowing that there was nothing that he could do right now without giving himself and his Animagus forms out to the professor, he tried to push all unsettling thoughts from his mind and concentrated on the bonding spell. To his relief, it worked on the first attempt, and all of a sudden, he felt much happier than before.

'I'm sorry, but I took the liberty of bonding to you,' he thought to the professor. 'That'll make it easier to communicate.'

"Oh that's wonderful. So you're my familiar now," the professor replied, sounding equally happier than before. "Do you have a name?"

'No,' Harry thought to her, causing her to smile.

"I'll name you Felix then," she informed him. "Felix means lucky in Latin, and it shows how lucky I am to have you here. Thank you so much for getting rid of all these slugs for me. I really appreciate it."

'You're welcome,' Harry thought back, smiling. 'They were delicious.'

HP

Worry about Hermione at the front of his mind, Harry slowly drifted off to sleep, while the professor continued to care for the plants around him. When he woke up, she was busying herself at the other side, and he quickly made his way through the greenhouse, curious as to what the professor was doing.

"Ah Felix," the professor addressed him, smiling. "Look, I've prepared a soft box for you here to sleep, right in front of the connection door to my private quarters. You may also come into my rooms and make yourself comfortable in front of the fireplace. It's very warm and cosy."

Harry thanked the teacher and immediately tried out the box that she had made for him. It was indeed comfortable and mostly fitting for his hedgehog form.

"I'm sorry to leave you alone again, but I have to attend lunch in the Great Hall," the professor continued to speak, before she swiftly left the greenhouse.

HP

_'It's now or never,'_ Harry thought and transformed into an earth phoenix that had brown feathers with a slightly red back. Thinking of his best friend, he flashed away, only to arrive next to a large Christmas tree in a Muggle living room. Only when he looked up seeing a tall figure stand in front of him did he realise that it had been incredibly stupid to do such a stunt.

"Harry," Hermione suddenly spoke up from behind her father. She leaned down to view the phoenix with the emerald green eyes and asked, "You're Harry, right?"

Harry gave her a slight nod, knowing that she was the only person who was aware of the fact that he was a natural multiple Animagus.

"Dad," Hermione turned to her father, "this is Harry. Please give him some space to transform into his human form."

Seeing Mr. Granger obey, Harry hesitantly changed back into his human form. "I'm sorry to intrude like this, especially on Christmas day, but I was worried about Hermione, since I heard that Voldemort attacked someone, and just wanted to make sure that you're all okay."

"Hello Harry, and you're very welcome to visit us," Mr. Granger replied, smiling. "My wife will also be pleased to meet you. Hermione is not speaking about anything else but you."

"Dad!" Hermione threw in, sounding upset.

Laughing, Mr. Granger left the room, mumbling something like helping his wife in the kitchen.

"Harry, what happened?" Hermione asked in concern, ushering him to the sofa on the other side of the Christmas tree.

Harry let out a long sigh, before he explained everything that had happened during the last fourteen hours.

"You won't return to Hogwarts as a student. You're going to remain in the greenhouses in form of a hedgehog," Hermione repeated, incredulously.

"Please don't tell anyone. During classes and over the nights, I'm going to spend some time in the library studying, so that I can take my OWLs in the summer. I know that I don't have to be a Hogwarts student for that. I can just take them at the Ministry," Harry replied.

"Of course I won't tell, but I'm going to miss you," Hermione replied, sighing.

"I'll be there," Harry promised, smiling. "I can always flash us into an unused part of the castle, where we can spend some time together."

Before he flashed back to Hogwarts, he tried to bond to Hermione, uncertain if it would work as he was already bonded to Professor Sprout. However, from the immediate happy feeling as well as Hermione's strange but delighted look, he knew that it had indeed worked.

'I've bonded to you, so that we can easily communicate telepathically,' he informed her. 'I'm not sure though if it only works when I'm in my phoenix form though. I'll try it out later.'

HP

During the following ten days before the students were going to come back to Hogwarts, Harry used every free minute exploring unused parts of the castle in order to find a well hidden but comfortable classroom, where Hermione and he could meet to study on a regular - if possible daily - basis. To his relief, he was even able to communicate with the girl when he was in his hedgehog form, and the two friends spent at least an hour each day communicating with each other. Right before the welcoming feast, they agreed to meet in the library after the feast, knowing that no other student but Hermione used to enter the library during their first evening back at Hogwarts.

_'Sprout will hopefully be busy with her students, so that she won't miss me,'_ Harry thought.

HP

When Harry finally met Hermione after the welcoming feast, she stared at him with a shocked expression.

"Harry, did you know that Voldemort went after the Dursleys on Christmas day?" she asked, seemingly horrified. "They're all dead, and ever since then, Dumbledore and a few of the other professors have been searching the magical world for you."

Harry could only stare at his friend in shock. "The Dursleys?" he queried, terrified. "And it's all my fault. They only went after them because of me."

"Harry," Hermione said, gently laying her arm around his shoulders, "there's nothing that you can do about it. It's not your fault, because you did not live with them because you wanted it, but because Professor Dumbledore sent you there."

"No," Harry said, shaking his head. "When I received the letter that I was expelled, Dumbledore sent me another letter and told me to stay at home. But I didn't go back there, I came to my home here. Had I gone back, the wards wouldn't have failed, and the Dursleys would still be alive."

"You don't know that," Hermione replied, soothingly. "Remember, Voldemort received your blood last summer. The blood wards wouldn't have kept him from the Dursleys' home." She remained thoughtful, before she continued, "Maybe you should tell Professor Sprout who you are, so that the professors won't further search for you."

"No," Harry refused, firmly. "If they hadn't sent me back there, they'd know where I was. It's not my fault."

Hermione grudgingly agreed, and the two friends decided to meet in the unused classroom, which Harry had chosen, every evening after dinner.

HP

Harry soon became used to spending a large part of the days in his hedgehog form. Professor Sprout was very nice to say the least, and she easily accepted that Hedgehog Felix wanted to roam the grounds in the evenings, however, asked him to be back on time for curfew, which meant before she was going to switch off the lights in the greenhouses, so that she did not have to worry that he got in trouble with any of the wild animals in the forest.

Harry and Hermione met every evening to study together, and Hermione always left her notes with Harry, so that he could use them to study during the following night or day, before she needed them back. Harry also spent much time in the library studying various books hidden under his invisibility cloak.

Like Harry had promised Hermione, he applied for the OWLs at the Ministry of Magic. Not wanting to send his letter with an owl, he delivered it himself in his phoenix form and obediently waited to take back the reply with the schedule for his tests. _'I just hope that no one at Hogwarts will hear about this until after the tests,'_ he thought on the day before the test week, which took place at the same time as at Hogwarts.

"I think you studied much more than you'd have studied as a student," Hermione told him one evening, clearly surprised. "You'll well be able to get Os in all subjects."

HP

However, whilst no one at Hogwarts received the information about his appearance at the Ministry of Magic, someone else did, and just when Harry had finished his last exam and was on the verge of transforming back into his phoenix form right around the corner from the test room, Voldemort was suddenly standing in front of him.

Due to the lack of time to think of a plan, Harry did the first thing that came into his mind. He transformed into a polar bear. With large paws, he took away Voldemort's wand and gave the older wizard a knock into the head that made the evil wizard stumble and fall unconscious, just when a group of ministry employees came around the corner to witness the scene.

Unaware of his audience, Harry now transformed into a mosley, which was a small insect that could fly and flash and possessed a deadly sting. Landing on Voldemort's shoulder, he bit the evil wizard into his cheek multiple times, before he flashed right back to Hogwarts, sighing in relief, when he was back in his hedgehog form.

_'I just hope that he's gone for good this time,'_ he thought, when he flashed to the classroom, where he used to study together with Hermione.

HP

It was two days later that Hermione greeted him in apparent excitement. "Voldemort is dead, and they know that it was you and know that you must be a multiple Animagus. Dumbledore said they want to award you the Order of Merlin first class, and he announced that as soon as you've been found and he has spoken with you they intend to install a new subject at Hogwarts, a selective Animagus class, from fifth year onwards. He wants you as the professor," she blurted out, gasping for air when she finally stopped talking.

Harry could not help laughing. "I've been expelled from Hogwarts, but they want me as teacher?" he asked, incredulously. "Isn't that ridiculous?"

"Yes, it is," Hermione admitted, smiling.

"Especially as I haven't even taken my NEWTs yet," Harry added, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Yes Harry, you did it," Hermione blurted out in excitement. "You took your NEWTs. Apparently, someone made a mistake, and they didn't make you take your OWLs but your NEWTs. Did you not notice that everything was much more difficult that it should have been?"

Harry stared at the girl in shock. "They made me take the NEWTs?" he asked, incredulously. "That's why it was so difficult. Oh well, I'm sure that I didn't pass more than one or two subjects at the most."

Hermione grinned. "No Harry, you passed them all except for History of Magic, which doesn't really belong to the essential subjects." She cast her friend a sharp look, before she enquired, "Harry, are you feeling all right? You don't look well."

"I don't feel so well," Harry had to admit. In fact, he had felt a little under the weather ever since he woke up in the morning. However, his condition had definitely worsened since he had transformed into his human form. Before he knew what happened, he felt his friend's ice-cold hand on his forehead.

Hermione let out an uncharacteristic gasp. "Harry, you're burning up. Let me take you to Madam Pomfrey."

"No," Harry refused, vehemently. "I think I'll just go home and try to sleep. Maybe it'll be better in the morning."

"I doubt it," Hermione said, worriedly. "Harry, please tell Professor Sprout the truth. She'll be able to help you and get some potions for you."

"What if she throws me out?" Harry asked, although he had to admit that he felt too bad to care.

"Then just come here and contact me, telepathically," Hermione replied in a firm voice. "Please go and tell her that you're an Animagus and that you're ill."

HP

Ten minutes later, Harry was back in his hedgehog form and hesitantly stepped over to where the professor was picking some herbs for the Potions Master.

"Felix," she spoke up, seemingly pleased. "You're back early tonight."

Harry inwardly sighed, before he thought to the kind witch, 'I'm sorry. Can you promise me that you won't be angry if I tell you a secret?'

"I promise, Felix," Sprout replied in clear surprise. "What's wrong, dear?"

'I'm not a real hedgehog, but an Animagus,' Harry admitted, hesitantly, readying himself to transform into his phoenix form and flash away from the spot.

The professor stared at him in disbelief. "Is that so?" she finally asked and, seeing the hedgehog nod, suggested, "Let's go into my private rooms then, and you'll transform back and tell me everything."

Harry nodded and raised his left foot, which had become a sign for the professor to pick him up.

She carefully picked up the small animal, frowning at the heat of his feet. "Are you feeling all right?" she asked in obvious concern. Seeing the hedgehog shake his head, she led him straight into her guestroom and placed him onto the bed.

"Please change back into your human form, so that I can see what I can do to help you," she said in a soft voice, smiling at her familiar.

Harry still hesitated. However, when the professor once again promised to not be angry at him and to not tell anyone about his presence in her quarters provided that it was evitable, he hesitantly transformed back.

"Mr. Potter," Sprout blurted out in apparent surprise.

"I'm sorry," Harry mumbled.

"It's all right, Harry," Professor Sprout said in a soft voice, interrupting herself when Harry threw in "Felix."

"All right then, Felix," Sprout continued, smiling, "but you seem very ill, and I'm afraid that I must call Madam Pomfrey, so that she can help you. Either Madam Pomfrey or Professor Snape. He'd be able to help as well."

"Won't they give me out to the headmaster?" Harry enquired, worriedly.

"Madam Pomfrey won't," Sprout said, soothingly, and headed to the fireplace in the living room.

HP

Ten minutes later, the healer strode into the room, eyeing the boy with a combination of surprise and disbelief, before she turned into healer's mode and began to wave her wand over the boy.

"You caught the goblin's flu that has been going around at the Ministry of Magic during the last two weeks," she informed him, sighing. "Three days of rest and you'll be right as rain." Turning to the professor, she asked, "Shall I take him with me?"

"No," Sprout replied in a firm voice. "Harry has been living with me for six months already, and he belongs to me. Please don't tell anyone about his presence in my rooms."

"I won't," Pomfrey promised. "I'm just glad that he's all right."

HP

During the following three days, Sprout cared for Harry and nursed him back to health. Only when he felt better, Sprout asked him why he had ended up living in her greenhouse as a hedgehog and showed full understanding for his reasons, especially when he told her about having to use a blood quill in Professor Umbridge's detention.

They also spoke about the matter with the NEWTs and the demise of Voldemort, and Sprout finally suggested that he should show himself to Dumbledore and accept the position as the professor for Animagus Studies.

Harry vehemently shook his head. "No Professor, first of all, I'm still under age, and I don't want Dumbledore to send me back to the Dursleys."

"The Dursleys aren't anymore," Sprout reminded him, gently, and offered that he could remain living together with her, be it in his Animagus or his human form.

"Thank you very much," Harry replied, gratefully, thinking, _'She behaves like the mother I never had.'_

"I won't be able to teach anyone how to become an Animagus though," he continued, "because I'm a natural Animagus. I don't know how to learn or practise it. If I was going to teach at Hogwarts, I'd like to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, but I suppose that Professor Lupin is going to teach it again now that Voldemort is gone."

"I don't know that," Sprout said, thoughtfully, and promised, "During the leaving feast, I'll speak with my colleagues about the matter. I won't tell them that you're here, but I'll suggest that they offer you something better if they want you to teach at Hogwarts."

"I don't mind if you tell Professor McGonagall the truth, provided that she doesn't give me out to the headmaster," Harry replied in a soft voice. "Thank you so much for everything."

Sprout smiled. "You're very welcome, Felix," she replied, gently.

HP

By the time Sprout returned to her quarters, she was accompanied by Hermione and Professor McGonagall.

"Harry," Professor McGonagall addressed her former student.

"Felix," Sprout threw in, causing Harry to smile.

"I'm Felix," he told his former head of house, who exchanged a glance with a grinning Hermione.

"Very well, Felix," McGonagall spoke again, "I'd like to offer you the positions of the Transfiguration professor and the Gryffindor head of house." Seeing that Harry stared at her with a combination of confusion and disbelief, she added, "Now that you have defeated Voldemort, Professor Dumbledore announced that he's going to retire at the end of the school year, which is tomorrow. Alternatively," she continued, "you could become the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, if Professor Lupin is willing to become my successor. I haven't spoken with him yet."

"Either position is fine with me," Harry replied, happily, "since either allow me to remain at Hogwarts, my first and only real home.

"Thank you Felix for accepting," McGonagall said, smiling. "I'll go and speak with Professor Lupin right away. I expect you at breakfast in the Great Hall tomorrow by the way, provided that Professor Sprout and Madam Pomfrey allow you out of bed."

"Sure," Harry promised, smiling.

With that, the two professors left the room, allowing Hermione to remain with Harry.

HP

"Hermione," Harry spoke up, hesitantly. "Before I'm going to be a teacher, which will be totally strange, especially if you're still a student, I'd like to ask you something." Seeing that she looked at him with a combination of curiosity and amusement, he continued, "Would you perhaps be willing to become my girlfriend?"

Hermione smiled in clear amusement. "Harry, yes, I'd like to become your girlfriend, but we're already much more than girlfriend and boyfriend, considering that you bonded with me six months ago."

"Sorry Mione, but what exactly does that mean?" Harry asked in confusion.

Hermione sighed, before she grinned. "I've done some research about the matter. What you did to me was not just a usual bonding spell like you probably cast it at Professor Sprout. What you cast at me was much more, like a betrothal spell."

"How do you know that?" Harry asked in confusion. "What's the difference?"

Hermione grinned again. "Can you feel my emotions?" she queried, looking at the boy in expectation.

"Yes," Harry admitted.

"Can you feel those of Professor Sprout?" Hermione asked.

"No."

"You see," Hermione said, triumphantly. "It's different. By the spell you cast at me, we're already engaged."

Harry stared at the girl in shock. "I'm sorry," he stammered..."

"It's fine," Hermione interrupted him in a soft voice. "I'm very happy."

_'Me too,'_ Harry thought, when he drifted off to sleep an hour and a conversation with Professor Sprout later. _'I'm the happiest boy at Hogwarts, and everything began last Christmas just because of a lot of snow.'_

**The End**

**Happy New Year to you all!**


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